A trip to the magical country of Iceland will be incomplete if you don’t visit the Golden Circle. The locations that combine to form the Golden Circle are easily accessible from Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Every tourism agency conducts Golden Circle trips. Unlike most of the places that are easy to reach and exceptionally popular, the Golden Circle is an absolute must-visit. No matter how much you hate crowded spots, you must see the locations that make up the Golden Circle, at least once. The Geysir and the Gullfoss Waterfall are indeed two of the most unique natural wonders that your eyes will ever see in one lifetime.
1. The Thingvellir National Park: Golden Circle Tours Iceland booked from Discover Iceland will take you to the Thingvellir National Park. Althingi in the Thingvellir National Park is the location where the world’s oldest parliament meetings used to take place. Back in AD 930, the Vikings used to hold meetings at this awe-inspiring and geologically significant site. There is a boardwalk that runs between enormous crevices on the surface of the earth.
2. The Althingi: Don’t forget to add an explicit visit to the Althingi site in your Iceland Private Tours. As already mentioned earlier, it’s at the Thingvellir National Park near the dramatic Almannagja fault fronted by a boardwalk called Logberg, or the Law Rock. It’s where the parliament meetings used to take place every year. The law speaker recited the existing laws to the assembled parliament. Once the nation converted to Christianity, they changed the site and acquired a location on the foot of the Almannagja cliffs.
3. The tectonic plates: Everyone goes to the Thingvellir for another reason, apart from its historical importance. As already mentioned earlier, the site is geologically vital to Iceland. The Thingvellir plain is on a tectonic plate boundary where the North American and European tectonic plates are tearing away from each other at a rate of 1-18mm every year. That’s why the plan is full of dramatic fissures, rivers, and ponds, including the great Almannagja rift.
4. Geysir: Geysir is one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions. It’s the original hot-water spout that named the rest of the geysers in the world. Geysir erupts rarely these days, but earthquakes can trigger activity. Fortunately, there’s the Strokkur, Geysir’s younger sibling. It’s close to Geysir, and you can see it shooting hot water at impressive heights of 15-40m every 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Gullfoss Waterfall: This particular waterfall is the most famous one in Iceland. Gullfoss is spectacular, to the say the least, with its double cascade dropping a dramatic 32m. While descending, it creates magnificent walls of spray before vanishing from your eyesight into a rocky ravine. During sunny days, the mist creates rainbows, while in the winter, the waterfall glitters due to ice particles.
Another location: Kerid Crater
If possible, you should also include the Kerid crater into your list of places to see on the Golden Circle. It’s a 6500-year-old explosion crater with vivid red sienna earth. It also has an ethereal green lake at the bottom.
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